Op-Ed: The mainstream media ignores Trump's successes

Rick Hayes

President Trump is currently on a roll fulfilling one campaign promise after another, turning the economy around and making significant advancements on the international stage in North Korea, Israel and Iran but you would never know it if you only followed the mainstream media.

While Trump was busy bringing down the unemployment rate to record lows, CNN was focusing on the credibility of a porn star who allegedly accepted hush money so she wouldn't speak to the media. As Trump prepared to enter a meeting with North Korea after the successful release of three hostages, CNN was busy covering Mueller's never-ending, unethical and disgraceful investigation into Russian collusion. The fake news coverage on Trump has become so outrageously biased that entire news segments are sometimes dedicated, not on anything Trump did, but on hypotheticals. Pure baseless speculation allowed to pass as news on the part of the corrupt media where nothing is too outrageous or out-of-bounds if it intends to hurt Trump.

Think of the immense amount of time and financial resources that went into investigating Benghazi, the IRS scandal, Fast and Furious and Hillary's private server. Understand that these blatantly illegal and unconstitutional crimes cost the lives of at least five Americans including a United States ambassador and a U.S. Border Patrol agent. They stole the constitutional rights of many United States citizens, put millions of military personnel at risk and forever tarnished the reputation of the Department of Justice and the F.B.I., and not a single person was held accountable for any of it. Investigations with no clear outcome or conclusions are like watching a magic show with no magic. Just a bunch of anticipation and a lot of wand waving but no rabbit ever comes out of the hat. On the other hand, Trump is under what appears to be a permanent Russian collusion investigation and faces the threat of impeachment regardless of the progress he has made.

The constant and unparalleled barrage of negative press coordinated against Trump has its foundation deep under the muck and slime of the swamp which is comprised of elected criminals in a cartel known as Congress and buttressed by an out-of-control, venom spewing media. In 2015, the most recent year for which the digital news outlet Quartz could access the information, the median member of the US Congress was worth at least $1.1 million. That is more than 12 times greater than the net wealth of the median US household. The median net worth of a senator was $3.2 million, versus $900,000 for members of the House of Representatives. Obviously, this wealth did not amass through the interest gained on a savings account, and so the illicit dealings within the swamp going on for decades are very lucrative and have no intentions of stopping on their own.

And yet, even with the formidable domestic forces of evil coming at him from every conceivable angle, Trump has managed to continue to stay focused on the needs of the country. Part of Trump's successful arsenal resides in his willingness to speak directly to the American people regarding his candid assessment of motivations, hypocrisy and the nature of what is coming at him.

If members of Congress had just half of the willpower and single-mindedness that Trump has displayed as he walks through the minefield of American politics, many of the problems facing this country could be solved fairly quickly.

**The views expressed in this column represent only those of the author and not the board or membership of the Juniper Park Civic Association.

The Juniper Berry magazine, first published in 1938 is an all-volunteer effort containing articles on crime prevention, neighborhood issues, meeting reports and notices, neighborhood history and photographs, guest articles, editorials and more.

Press Releases

The Juniper Park Civic Association will hold their annual holiday party and raffle on Thursday, December 13th, 2018 at 7:45pm at Our Lady of Hope Auditorium in Middle Village. The civic association will use this occasion to close out its 80th anniversary year.

Mayor de Blasio announced a major policy shift on February 28th which will eventually end the City's use of hotels and cluster sites as homeless shelters. The City now plans to build shelters in individual communities sized to accommodate the number of homeless that originate from them. This means homeless families and individuals will be able to remain in their own familiar neighborhoods while they rebuild their lives.